Fluid-treating apparatus for films



July 17, 1923. 1,461,794

c. DE Moos FLUID TREATING APPARATUS FOR FILMS Filed Feb. 5. 1922 WITN s El- INVENTOR 3 E15, 9 10 1g 9. H 092M625" deflo'as',

BY 6 MW ATTORNEY till GHARLES trees, or i tlll it BANE, or scones;

Application filed February 8,

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that l, CHARLES on l /loos, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Fort Lee, in the. county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Fluid-Treating Apparatus for Films, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to apparatus in which strips of material. such as motion picture film, are subjected to the action of fluids like those for developing, washing, fixing, tinting, toning. drying, etc. Que object of the invention is to provide apparatus in which the film, especially of usual type having two sets of perforations therein, is conducted with certainty and without injury through the vessels in which the treatment takes place. Other objects ill hereinafter appear.

ln the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a typical portion of a fluid treating apparatus embodying the preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan View of the sprocket arrangement used in the preterred form.

ln all of the figures the relative dimensions of the parts are somewhat altered for the sake of clearness and compactness illustration.

ln commercial apparatus "for fluid treating motion picture film it has been proposed to pass the film through one or more tanks or vessels in a series of loops by means of toothed sprockets engaging the perforations adjacent the opposite edges of the film. each sprocket having two separate sets of for this purpose. ln actual practice trouble is experienced due to a slight distortion of the film during treatment. This results in injury to the perforations. ll hen the perforations at one edge of the film are erly engaged by one of the sets of test of the sprocket, the erforations at the other edge, due to the distortion, are slightly too far ahead or slightly too far back of the position that they should occupy with respect to the other set of teeth. Consequently, the film rides up on these teeth. Since the film is under some tension, this riding portion of the film between the perforations becomes ched. But the worst effect occurs hen the teeth finally forced into the pe o1 ""ons with which they do not perre 'ly s forcing inutilates the edges perforations, correspondingly imthe usefulness of the finished prodprojection. l have discovered U this serious diiiiculty can be overcome by providing a series of pertoration-enga g tractive members, such that certain of i m engage only one of perforations in the him and others engage only the opposite set of perforations. the preferred em.- hodiment of my invention these tractii'e menilters tel M re. the form of sprockets. each a single set of teeth, the teeth of sucsproclrets throughout the series enopposite sets of perforations in the *iuid treatment vessels are shown at. 1e form of vertical tubes or tanks of -r cross section. '01 course, these may be or quite different shape and in general are utiiciently long to provide "for adequate trea ment of the film while it moves therein a The are shown as containing l'quid 2 which mc Y be any ofthose used in or photographic film. the customary developing and fixing baths tubes of lead have been found satisfactory. In pla e of a liquid, a drying fluid. such as warm air. can be passed through the vessels to properly conditiou'the film. Adjacent the top of the tanks is located a supper" 3 having bearings in which rotate sha" 3s 5 rotated in unison hy any convenient means, such as chains 6, meshing with chain sprockets T deriving power from a drive shaft fl.

On each shaft 5 is a sprocket 9. So as these have the particular arrangement oi tractive members, mentioned later, they may he 0'5 any ordinary or preferred iorin. They illustrated as having guide flanges 10 and cutaway central portions 11, leaving bearing ledges 12. lhese details, however. are not essential, although convenient.

As shown most clearly in 3, each sprocket has only one set of poster 0 teeth 13. The set of on see sprocket is the end opposite the set of teeth on the next adjacent sprocket. iv

In order to maintain the film in looped condition in the fluid treating vessels or tanks and in contact with the sprockets, it is convenient to employ weighted rollers 16 having flanges 17 thereon and film engaging ledges 18 formed by cutting away the central portions of the rolls at 19.

It will be understood that I have shown only a part of the apparatus in which the principle of my invention is illustratively embodied, as will be obvious from an inspection of the drawing. The shape of the fluid treating vessels can be widely varied and the number of them can be greatly changed or increased. Moreover, the number of filmcontaeting sprockets used in connection with each tank or container can be varied in accordance with ordinary engineering practice.

I find that film which has been treated and moved by the method above described is not permanently distorted, but in its finished condition is eminently suitable for projection without trouble. Neither the temporary distortion which takes place in the fluids, nor the stresses set up by engaging the film at opposite sides at separate points causes any permanent impairment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for fluid treating motion picture film having sets of perforations therein, comprising treatment vessels and means for conducting said film through said vessels, said means including a series of perforation-engaging tractive members, certain of said members engaging only one set of perforations and others engaging only another set of perforations.

2. Apparatus for fluid treating motion picture film having sets of perforations therein, comprising treatment vessels and means for conducting said film through said vessels, said means including a series of perforation-engaging tractive members, each member of said series engaging only a set of perforations different from the set engaged by the next member in the series.

3. Apparatus for fluid, treating motion picture film having sets of perforations therein, fluid treatment tanks and means for conducting said film through said tanks, said means including a series of sprocket'rolls, the teeth of certain of said sprockets engaging only one set of perforations and the teeth of others engaging only another set of perforations.

4. Apparatus for fluid treating motion picture film having sets of perforations therein, fluid treatment tanks and means for conducting said film through said tanks, said means including a series of sprocket rolls, each sprocket having a single set of teeth engaging only one set of perforations, the teeth of successive sprockets in the series engaging different sets of perforations.

5. Apparatus for fluid treating motion picture film having two sets of perforations therein, comprising fluid treatment tanks, sprockets driven in unison for conducting said film into and out of said tanks, and weighted rolls for maintaining, film loops in said tanks and holding said film in contact with said sprockets, each sprocket having only one set of teeth, and the teeth of each sprocket engaging a different set of perforations from those engaged by the teeth of the next sprocket.

6. Apparatus for fluid treating film having two sets of perforations, comprising a fluid treatment chamber and sprockets for moving said film through said chamber, one of said sprockets having a single set of teeth engaging only one set of perforations and another of said sprockets having a single set of teeth engaging only the other set of perforations.

7. A process of fluid treating film having.

two sets of perforations, comprising the steps of bringing into contact with said film a fluid tending to distort it and applying moving forces while the film is so treated to said sets of perforations at longitudinall separatt .1 zones, the zones of application of force to one set of perforations being staggered along the length of the film with respect to the zones of application of force to the other set of perforations.

8. Film advancing mechanism adapted to effect the advancement of standard perforated motion picture film comprising a film driving roll having narrow film bearing ledges near the ends and sprocket teeth extending from one of said ledges only.

9. Film advancing mechanism adapted to effect the advancement of standard perforated motion pieture film comprising a plurality of film driving rolls, each roll having narrow film bearing ledges near its ends and one of said ledges having sprocket teeth thereon, said rolls being arranged so that the toothed portions of successive rolls will engage the perforations on opposite sides of the film.

CHARLES on MODS. 

